Source: Malaysiandigest.comThe Sabah Wildlife Department is stepping up its crackdown against those dealing with wildlife meat amid criticisms that such an action was adversely affecting some indigenous communities here. Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said wildlife rangers would be conducting more surprise checks on tamu or weekly farmers’ markets and other places where wildlife meat was being sold. "Some of the meat sold there are totally protected species,” he said, noting that endangered animals such as the binturong bearcat had been found to be sold in such markets. He said under the law, all wildlife belonged to the government and special permits were required for the hunting, trading or possession of wildlife meat. On Nov 11, three individuals were detained after wildlife rangers seized 160kg of Sambar and barking deer meat at the tamu in the interior remote town of Nabawan. Following the crackdown, United Murut Community Organisation president Datuk Alizulfakar Alexius said the action ran contrary to the tradition of the indigenous community who had been hunting wildlife for protein as they have done so for centuries. He said indigenous communities would usually hunt wildlife that had wandered into their farms or orchards and destroyed their crops. He said villagers selling their meat in the tamu should not be considered as committing a crime. Meanwhile, wildlife officer Benedict Jani said Nabawan had become a hotspot for the sale of illegal bushmeat in recent years due to the vast road network all the way to Tawau.

He said it was not surprising that bushmeat was illegally hunted in Maliau Basin or as far as some protected forest reserves in Tawau and Lahad Datu. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the war on illegal wildlife trade and poaching has just begun.

Source: Thestar.com.MYBy Victoria BrownIllegal wildlife trade in Malaysia may be rampant, but we should work to plug gaps in enforcement rather than concede defeat. HUSKS being sawed off, tigers being skinned, bears kept in captivity to harvest bile, and endangered animals being eating by humans. Wildlife poaching and trade is becoming a huge problem in Malaysia. I spoke to the Southeast Asia regional director of wildlife protection NGO Traffic Dr Chris Shepherd and he told me that Malaysia plays an important role in the global wildlife trade. Malaysia is not only a source of exotic wildlife to be sold off in the black market, but we are also a consumer of illegal wildlife items, and transit point for several poachers around the world.“Tigers are being poached all over Malaysia. Malaysia is also a source for pangolins, freshwater turtles and many more, for both the domestic market and export. Sambar deers are also being poached in a serious way which is mostly used for local consumption at the local restaurants,” said Shepherd. The illegal slaughter of these animals have already caused banteng (wild cattle) and rhinos to be extinct in Peninsular Malaysia. “Tigers are dwindling, and that’s sad because Malaysia really has a chance to keep its tigers. We will lose them if we don’t change,” said Shepherd. Shepherd says that there is no excuse for the senseless drop in our wildlife population. “The only reason it happened was because there wasn’t enough effort to protect them. The habitat is still there,” he said. “There’s enough habitat to have over a thousand tigers for example, they’re just getting emptied out,” said Shepherd. It is estimated that less than 500 tigers can be found in the wild in Malaysia. “Everything is in decline. It’s very depressing that we’re losing so much wildlife so fast. Even though people know about this, the most depressing thing is that so little is being done,” said Shepherd.The worse thing is that these illegal items harvested by poachers are relatively easy to find in Malaysia. More....

A Sambar deer was today rescued from the clutches of poachers by a youth in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, forest officials said.

The incident occurred when one Vinod Pansotra noticed some hunters following a deer in Chak village of Kathua district. He rescued the deer from his agricultural field when they were trying to kill it, they said.

The deer was later handed over to a wild life protection team.

A number of wild animals become target for hunters when during cold weather they come down from hilly areas to plains in search of food and shelter.

The Sambar deer would be released in the forest after treatment, officer at wild life protection cell, Joginder Paul said.

Sabah launched a crackdown on illegal trade and poaching of wildlife as some 160kg of protected Sambar and barking dears were seized from a tamu (weekly farmers' market) in Nabawan. Three people were arrested and three others escaped as Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) rangers swooped on the tamu on Wednesday following public tip-offs on open sale of slaughtered protected species in Nabawan about 200km from Kota Kinabalu. Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun ordered the department to go all out to address the issue of wildlife poaching and trading in the state. "The war on illegal wildlife trade and poaching has just began, so hunters and poachers in Sabah be warned that there will be no compromise as we will be prosecuting and we will charge them to the highest extent of the law. Be ready to go to be jailed,” Masidi said. SWD officer Benedict Jani said that a total 145 kilograms of Sambar deer meat and 15 kilograms of Barking deer meat was confiscated as they were being sold without valid permits. He said three other traders managed to escape after the first two were apprehended along with a third individual who resisted arrest and was preventing wildlife rangers from confiscating the bushmeat. "Nabawan district has become a hotspot for the sale of illegal bushmeat in recent years due to the vast road networks all the way to Tawau and we will not be surprised if this bushmeat was illegally hunted in Maliau Basin or as far as some protected Forest Reserves in Tawau and Lahad Datu,” Jani said.

Source: Dailyexpress.com.MYThe Wildlife Health Genetic and Forensic Laboratory (WHGFL) in Lok Kawi was only launched on Monday and it is already busy going after poachers. Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the department received on Tuesday pictures from the public showing protected species slaughtered and sold in an open market in Nabawan. He said that he immediately sent an enforcement team including from the Wildlife Rescue Unit to investigate the market that operates on Wednesdays. From the pictures sent to the department, he said that the species include binturong, common palm civet, banded palm civet, Malay civet, sambar deer, porcupine and blood python, among others. "Those species are definitely hunted from forest reserves and national parks, where hunting is totally forbidden," he said in a statement. To this, he said the department needs support from the public to tackle the menace. "There is a clear and present danger to our wildlife here in Sabah. Illegal hunting and poaching is happening at an unprecedented rate now, fuelled not only by local consumption, but also by international illegal trade in wildlife," he said. The WHGFL was set up by Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) and EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) as a focal point to analyse confiscated illegal bushmeat to determine species and origin, using genetic tools. On the other hand, Assistant Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department, Dr Sen Nathan, said the department is seriously looking at beefing up the department's capacity by setting up a Wildlife Enforcement Unit that is similar to the department's Wildlife Rescue Unit. Director of DGFC, Dr Benoit Goossens, who is also an advisor to the department and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment on wildlife conservation, said people who hunt, handle, buy and eat bushmeat are not only acting against the law, but also risk their lives by handling or consuming wildlife. More....

Source: Malaysiandigest.comExotic wildlife meats including protected species are being sold openly at a market in Sabah's interior Nabawan town about 200km from Sabah's capital. "We received pictures from the public showing protected species slaughtered and sold in a tamu (open market) in the district of Nabawan," said Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu. He added the protected species included binturong, common palm civet, banded palm civet, Malay civet, sambar deer, porcupine and blood python. "These species are definitely hunted from forest reserves and national parks where hunting is totally prohibited," he said. Ambu said his department would take full action against those responsible as such acts was "unacceptable". He said the bushmeat recovered would be sent to the newly opened Wildlife Health Genetic and Forensic Laboratory (WHGFL) in Kota Kinabalu to determine their species and origin. Wildlife department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said that there was a clear and present danger to Sabah’s wildlife as illegal hunting and poaching were happening at an unprecedented rate. “They are fuelled by both local consumption and also by international illegal trade in wildlife,” he said.Danau Girang Field Centre director Dr Benoit Goossens said that there was evidence of illegal hunting happening in national parks and protected forests in Sabah based on evidence captured by camera traps. More....

Illegal hunting in several forest reserves and national parks in Sabah, including iconic protected areas such as Crocker Range National Park, is still going on, concerned non-governmental organisations has warned. These NGOs charged that poachers have infiltrated the Tawau Hills National Park, Maliau Basin Conservation Area and Tabin Wildlife Reserve, as well as the Malua BioBank and Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. “This is extremely serious and we – government, NGOs, research institutions – need to tackle this issue as quickly as possible if we don’t want to see our wildlife ending in bowls and/or in medicine products,” said Dr Benoit Goossens, Director of Danau Girang Field Centre. “It is paramount that the millions (of Ringgit) recently invested in our protected forests are used for wildlife protection and wildlife trade and poaching enforcement,” he told the recent 5th East and Southeast Asian Wild Animal Rescue Network (WARN) Conference held in Tuaran. “Shall we wait for another iconic species (such as the Sumatran rhino) to disappear in Sabah before reacting?” concluded Goossens in his talk.The conference, the 1st in Sabah, was organised by the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and DGFC last 26 and 27 November. The conference was sponsored by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, EcoOils, Sabah Tourism Board and Shangri La’s Rasa Ria Resort.“In fact, a discussion on wildlife trade and poaching in Southeast Asia, with a focus on Sabah was co-chaired by Dr Marc Ancrenaz from HUTAN and myself,” said Goossens, the co-organiser of the conference. “We took the opportunity to present some recent data from surveys carried out by TRAFFIC in Sabah (and other Malaysian states) on pangolin trade and sun bear bile trade,” he added.“The results were astonishing; out of 21 shops visited in December 2010 in Kota Kinabalu, eight were selling bear bile products. Moreover, in a survey carried out in our State in 2012, 10 out of 24 shops surveyed were selling sun bear products. “More astonishingly, a TRAFFIC report published in 2010 on pangolin trade in Sabah, including analysis of trade syndicate’s logbooks seized by SWD in 2009, showed that 22,200 pangolins were traded by the syndicate in 13 months,” he pointed out. More....

Source: Business-standard.comTwo elephants were electrocuted when they came in contact with a high power grid line in a government-owned garden of Assam Tea Corporation Limited in Jorhat district.

The elephants, a male and a female, came out of the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary and entered Sycotta Tea Estate at Mariani when the trunk of the male elephant touched the power grid line, Maraini Range Officer Dibakar Medhi said.

The jumbos regularly strayed into the adjacent tea estates and villages bordering the sanctuary in search of food and water.

The sanctuary, with an area of 20-48 sq km, is an ideal habitat for elephants, but over the last decade their population has gone up to over 40 which is forcing the animals to come out of the forest frequently.

The sanctuary is home to more than 291 species of birds, elephants, leopards, jungle cats, civet cats, mongoose, Chinese pangolins, Indian foxes, sambhar deer, barking deer and Malayan giant squirrels, besides gibbons.

Source: Business-standard.comFive persons have been arrested on the charge of poaching deers and 35 kg of venison seized from them in Kadambur forest area in the district.

A team of forest department officials on a routine patrol in the forest area spotted the group moving with gunny bags last evening. When the officials intercepted them and checked the bags, they found deer meat and skin, officials said today.

During questioning, the five allegedly confessed that they killed a sambar by trapping it with the help of a net and killed it for collecting meat and skin for sale.

All the five were arrested and produced before a magistrate court in Sathyamangalam which remanded them in judicial custody for 15 days.

Source: Newindianexpress.comThe arrest of four poachers hailing from Orissa in the Palar range on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border and one from Bandipur National Park recently has put the Forest Department and wildlife activists on alert. Snare traps, which the poachers planned to lay in the dense jungle to trap the big cats, were seized from them.The threat against wildlife has increased in recent years as Karnataka has a population of about 300 tigers, of which 200 are in Bandipur and Nagarhole national parks alone. There are more than 38 tigers in Biligiri Ranaganathaswamy Wildlife Sanctuary apart from 4,000 elephants, chital, sambhars, chousinghas, gaurs, wild pigs, leopards and dhole in a 1,500 sqkm area.The Male Mahadeshwara forest range across the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border was brought under the Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary and it has since become a target for poachers as all the four assailants were arrested from Palar.Four other poachers managed to escape, which poses a major challenge to the forest departments in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.According to sources, the four Shobhapura villagers, from Orissa, had entered and surveyed M M Hills forest range after which they had laid a series of snares in Nale Gadde, 30 metres from the banks of the Cauvery near Palar. Forest Department officials are in touch with officials of the wildlife crime control bureau records, to know the history of some of the arrested people and the cases against them in other States.The accused had also dug a small pit, kept food and covered it with foliage to trap animals. Forest officials, acting on a tip, seized salt and turmeric powder from the poachers. These items would be used to preserve the skin of the animals after poaching. More....

Source: Intlrhinofoundation.wordpress.comBy rhinosirfLess than a month ago, Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) discovered a group of six poachers who had killed three sambar deer in Sumatra’s Way Kambas National Park. The sambar (Rusa unicolor) is a large Asian deer species, stags sometimes reaching five feet at the shoulder and tipping the scales at more than 500 pounds. The arrest of one poacher attempting to escape with one of the dead deer led authorities to his five accomplices.

While that operation can be chalked up as a limited success, it certainly didn’t eliminate the threat of poaching. That became evident only a week later when Way Kambas RPUs and national park forest guards apprehended a second group of poachers, also hunting sambar. The second encounter was far more dangerous, however. A gunfight ensued, but all five suspects eventually were subdued without casualties on either side. Unfortunately, the group had already killed one deer.Once again, someone in the local intelligence network had tipped off the RPUs regarding the poachers’ plans, so the unit was well positioned to intercept the suspects and make arrests. In addition to the dead sambar, weapons and ammunition were among the evidence collected for prosecution. More importantly, the poachers provided information about another group of hunters who they believe are also planning to shoot deer in the national park. The hope is that the RPUs and local authorities will be able to confront these individuals and prevent the hunt from occurring, instead of having to fight armed poachers at night in the forest.The rich wildlife of Way Kambas National Park represents a tempting target for poachers, so these protection programs must continue for the foreseeable future. Perhaps the consequences suffered by those who have been caught – arrest, fines and imprisonment – will deter other would-be poachers from taking the same risk. Photos.

The accused have been identified as Govinda Madavi, 50, Tarachand Madavi, 45, and Pravin Bankar, 22, all hailing from Wanoda in Kuhi, adjoining the sanctuary.

According to RFO GF Luche, the trio were regular poachers and had electrocuted the animals last Friday by laying live wire traps in their farm adjoining the sanctuary.

"Our staff kept a watch near the farm and on Sunday night, we deliberately tripped the power line in the wee hours. Assuming that some animal must have died the accused reached the farm where they were arrested," said Luche.

Honorary wildlife warden Roheet Karoo, who was part of the operation, said the staff including round officer VV Bhoyar seized 15kg aluminium wires, traps, one spear and knives from the accused. The wires were stolen from MSEB premises.

The MSEB has also decided to book the accused and snapped their power connection. One of the poachers Rajsingh Pendam, who has sambar skins, is absconding.

The recent incidents of animal poaching reported from various forests in the State, particularly in the western region, have evoked serious concern among wildlife protection and conservation activists. The worrying trend is that animals are being hunted down not only for their hide, fur and meat but also as an adventure sport.According to Tito Joseph, programme manager of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), an elephant and a leopard poaching were reported in Tamil Nadu this year. Two elephant tusks and two female elephant tushes (small short tusk with no pulp inside, typical of female Asian elephants) and four tiger canines were seized.“Last year (2012), an elephant and a few deer were poached in Tamil Nadu, in addition to the seizure of seven elephant tusks, two tiger skins, three leopard skins and deer horns. Poaching of several other animals like blackbuck, spotted deer, sambar, monitor lizard, wild boar and turtle were also reported,” he said. He, however, said that poaching activity in Tamil Nadu was less than in the northern and central parts of the country.Forest officials were worried about the trend of wild animals being hunted down by people as an adventure activity and also for meat, in addition to their being hunted for trading.“Some of the people arrested recently were from well-off families and they were involved in hunting wild animals as an adventure sport. In some other cases animals were killed for the meat,” said M Senthil Kumar, Coimbatore District Forest Officer.“If NGOs working for wildlife conservation inform the Forest Department about poachers, they should take it seriously. What is important is good policing and forest officials should enhance security at entry points,” said S Jayachandran, joint secretary of Tamil Nadu Green Movement.

The Greater Mekong region's majestic and mysterious wild ungulates - animals with hooves - many of whom are unique to the region are on the edge of disappearing unless regional governments boost protection and intensify efforts to restore their numbers and their habitats, according to a new WWF report, Rumble in the Jungle.

The 13 ungulates of concern profiled in the report vary in species and status: from dog-sized deer to culturally significant wild cattle; from large antlered species to others so seldom seen that they have taken on mythical status. What is known, is that their futures are uncertain and for some it is already too late.2 species extinct in 20th centuryTwo species endemic to the Greater Mekong region, the kouprey and Schomburgk's deer, became globally extinct in the 20th century, while the hog deer and saola are on the edge of disappearing from the region and a number of other species face a similar fate in countries they once inhabited, including Eld's deer and banteng.4 species discovered in the last 20 years"The extraordinary variation in habitats in the Mekong region has resulted in the greatest diversity of hooved animals on earth. Four new species have been discovered in the last 20 years which is unparalleled," said Dr. Thomas Gray, Manager of WWF-Greater Mekong's Species Programme. "While human pressures, such as hunting and habitat destruction, are fast eroding populations of these extraordinary species, there is still time to save them if governments put biodiversity, and its protection, at the heart of decision-making." More....

Antlers belonging to a spotted deer found near Bhandup (West) have raised questions about hunting, or smuggling of parts of wildlife animals in and around Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).

The antlers were found by a group of boys who were playing near the Khindipada pipeline. Sightings of spotted deer and leopards are common near the Khindipada pipeline, because it is close to the boundary of SGNP. This is also the same location where a small girl was killed in a leopard attack last year.

On September 9, while playing near the Khindipada water pipeline, a group of boys noticed a part of a spotted deer’s antlers lying nearby. Having found it unusual and interesting, the children picked them up and took them. A man, who was passing by, Yashwant Thombra, saw the antlers and allegedly snatched them from the hands of the children. Thombra was allegedly under the influence of alcohol. Locals, who saw him with the antlers, rang up officials from Plants and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS), a Bhandup-based NGO. Soon after receiving the call, volunteers from the NGO immediately rushed to the spot. “When we reached the spot, a local showed us a picture he had clicked, of Thombra with the deer’s antlers. We immediately started searching for him, going door to door of every home in Khindipada. It was necessary because he could’ve sold the antlers, or used it for wrong purposes,” said Sunish Subramaniam, the founder of PAWS. More....

The recent arrests of small-time poachers on the periphery of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks have highlighted the underlying threat to wildlife despite intense patrolling by the Forest Department. While two persons, suspected to have poached a monitor lizard at BRT sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district, were nabbed by range officers on Monday, three persons accused of hunting a sambar at Nagarahole in Mysore district were taken into custody on Friday. According to sources in the Forest Department, poaching of small animals such as spotted deer and wild boar tends to be high during the festival season, but it mostly takes place beyond the national parks’ boundaries. However, a few individuals manage to sneak into national parks or wildlife sanctuaries despite the measures taken by the authorities. Bandipur and Nagarahole are contiguous to BRT, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and M.M. Hills. The entire area has a large number of tigers, ranging from 180 to 200, apart from elephants, leopards, dholes, spotted deer, barking deer and sambar. More camps set up Mr. Kantharaj, Conservator of Forests and Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, told The Hindu that a slew of measures were in place to curb poaching He said the number of anti-poaching camps in Bandipur had been increased from 43 to 46 this year. More....

By Wong Pui MayThe Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) is calling for urgent and decisive action to save the sambar deer, a critical food source for wild tigers and a species that is already missing from several protected forests in the country. The sambar deer, locally known as rusa, is facing extinction in Peninsular Malaysia due to poaching for its meat and for sport. Despite a six-year moratorium on hunting sambar deer that was put into place in 2009, scientists have found no evidence of population recovery to date. The sambar deer has not been captured in camera trap studies in selected forests in Kelantan and Pahang, and are seen less frequently in areas studied in Johor by MYCAT partner organisations. Rather than waiting until the moratorium runs out in 2014, MYCAT calls for an immediate change of the sambar deer's legal status – from hunted species to totally protected species – under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. Total protection means absolutely no hunting or trade. Under the Act, penalties for hunting or keeping totally protected wildlife can reach RM300,000 and/or 10 years jail. This call is prompted by research in northern Taman Negara National Park, Pahang, where MYCAT found that beyond the western border of the park, the sambar deer is nearly extinct due to poaching. Even inside the park, it has remained a rarity since the 1990s. Meanwhile, tiger population in the same area has plummeted over the past decade. In southern Pahang, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-Malaysia Programme has also not recorded any sambar deer on camera traps.In Kelantan, WWF-Malaysia did not record any evidence of the sambar deer in scientific studies conducted in 2004, 2005 and 2012. More....

Does consuming tiger penises really help a man’s virility? Does a bear’s gall bladder really have medicinal value? A lot of myths have contributed to the demand for wildlife meat and body parts, causing the number of certain species to dwindle dramatically. Bans, prohibitions and limitations placed on the buying and selling of certain animals and their parts, has also resulted in the trade going underground and becoming illegal. According to a report in The Star earlier this year, a live tiger can fetch up to US$50,000 (RM154,690) on the black market, and its skin is worth US$35,000 (RM108,283). Its penis sells for US$4,000 (RM12,370). Elephant tusks are US$1,800 (RM5,566). In Malaysia, some of the animals popular among poachers are wild boar, sambar deer, barking deer, mousedeer, porcupines and rare birds. Seeing how Malaysia always gets bad press for illegal wildlife trade, Ira Rakiz Md Tuffile, managing director of Matavia Reka, and his team decided that it was time to highlight efforts carried out by the Department Of Wildlife And National Parks (Perhilitan) to stem illegal activities on our shores. The result is Wildlife Defenders, a TV series that consists of three 30-minute episodes where Ira and team follow Perhilitan enforcement officers on their work, weeding out wildlife traffickers and traders. The series premiers on Discovery Channel today, with the remaining episodes shown on consecutive Sundays.“When the Anson Wong case came up in 2011 (the man dubbed The Lizard King was known as “the world’s most notorious wilidlife trader”), that was when they were talking about the Wildlife Conservation Act being enforced,” said Ira. Under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, any person who sets or uses snares for the purpose of hunting, faces fines ranging from RM50,000 to RM100,000 and a maximum two-year jail sentence. More....

By P. OppiliMembers of Tamil Nadu Green Movement on Thursday seized metal snares meant for poaching wildlife, from a temporary shop put up at the Gurunathaswamy temple festival in the Anthiyur forests and handed them over to the Conservator of Forests, Erode. The members wondered how Forest officials permitted the sale of such traps near Reserve Forests which have sizeable wildlife population. S. Jayachandran of Tamil Nadu Green Movement said someone tipped them off about the sale of metal snares at the temple festival. A visit to the temple revealed that a shop was selling two different types of snares. While one measured 30 ft, the other measured 10 ft. Members of TNGM seized 20 each from both types of snares. K. Mohan Raj of TNGM said the 30-ft snares were being sold at Rs. 100 each. The thin metal wire snares are arranged on a single line, tied between two trees or bushes. Whenever an animal crosses the snare, it gets trapped as the noose in the snare tightens, paralysing its movement and causing severe pain. Poachers normally fix snares inside forests during dusk and come back the next day. Small reptiles such as monitor lizards, mammals such as Malabar giant squirrel, Black-naped hare, porcupine, wild pig, mouse deer, barking deer, spotted deer (Cheetal), sambar deer, Palm civet, Small Indian civet, pangolin, jungle cat, leopard cat, leopard and even tiger cubs could be caught using such snares, he said. More....

As part of our Eco Volunteer Training program we were to visit an Anti Poaching Camp in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. I will not repeat here why anti poaching camps are needed, we all know we have only about 2500 tigers left in the wild and our apex predator is in great danger from organized poaching camps to man animal conflict leading to casualties on both the side. We humans forgetting totally that the tigers were living in the jungle before humans started encroaching and dividing Tiger territory.

Our visit to Anti poaching camp in Bandipur Tiger reserve was full of pleasant surprises, as we were going on a path where tourists are not allowed we were lucky to see some really beautiful wild animals. There was Gaur or Indian Bisons, Elephants, Sāmbhar, Barking deer, Cheetal a sloth bear and numerous birds like Brown fishing owl, kingfisher, flame back woodpecker, peacocks, spotted ducks. But as these animals are not used to human presence, they were very shy and tough to photograph.

The Anti Poaching Camps are deep inside the tiger reserve and are typically manned by 1-3 staff members who are locals and are given jobs with the forest department. Mind you this is deep inside tiger and elephant territory and you are at mercy of wild animals to not attack you. But deep inside the jungle the attacks by wild animals are rare as both humans and animals have no conflict. It is on the boundaries and buffer zone of the Tiger reserve the man animal conflict take place.We met Raju the staff member of the Anti Poaching camp we visited. He was alone in the camp as his colleague has gone for some work. Raju could speak only Kannada and took help from another volunteer in our group to communicate with him. A few leanings from our interaction with Raju the forest guard who lives deep inside the jungle in the Anti poaching camp in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. More....

The illegal wildlife trade in Malaysia is rising at worrying levels despite stricter enforcement and heavier penalties. Greedy traffickers, who gain huge profits from the cruel and unethical trade, are targeting the country as it is among the few that still have tigers, elephants, sun bears, pangolins and other sought-after species in the wild. Animals highly sought after by poachers in Malaysia include the wild boar, sambar deer, mouse deer, porcupine and several rare species of birds. According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), traffickers are motivated by the high profit margins in the wildlife trade. A live tiger is worth about US$50,000 (S$62,000) in the black market. Its skin alone can be worth up to US$35,000 (S$43,786.40). The prized parts of the big cat are sold separately, with its penis worth about US$4,000 (S$5,004.16). Elephant tusks are priced at US$1,800 (S$2,251.87) per kilogram while rhinoceros horns are at about US$97,000 (S$121,350.88) per kilogram. "Animal parts are used in traditional medicine, folk remedies and as aphrodisiacs," said a department spokesman. He said tigers are mostly hunted for their bones, skin and body parts, bears for their gall bladders and paws, pangolins for their meat and scales, while snakes such as pythons are traded for their skins. More....

In Southeast Asia, iconic wildlife species such as tigers and elephants survive in tenuously small populations surrounded by villages, agriculture and roads. Tigers, in particular, face a menacing combination of threats – direct poaching for their body parts, which are sold internationally as medicine and decorations, and poaching of their prey, like the sambar, barking deer, gaur and wild pig, that tigers depend on for survival and reproduction.

Wildlife poaching, especially of large mammals, has reached critical levels in Thailand and throughout Asia, resulting in forests that are nearly empty of animals.

Controlling poaching

Tackling poaching requires professionally managed protected areas and often, high levels of ranger patrolling. But park rangers are usually outnumbered by local people living in the surrounding areas. If parks fail to gain the help of local people in the fight against poaching, then the continued efforts of the poachers will overwhelm even the best-trained, motivated rangers who are at the frontline protecting tigers.

But if society actively supports conservation efforts, then rangers would be part of a broad alliance that outnumber the poachers. Engaging society in conservation is crucial for lasting and effective conservation.

In 2008, WWF-Thailand and Kuiburi National Park in southern Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, began an experimental project to reduce poaching by enlisting the support of surrounding communities. Conducted jointly with Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the project’s main goal was the recovery of tiger prey. Until then, tiger prey population had been poached to such scarcity that tigers were on the verge of extinction. More....

Source: WCS.orgOne year ago, Vietnam lost its last known rhino. Now, it could be on its way to losing its gaur, its gibbons, and its pangolins, too.

In the city of Da Lat, Vietnamese enforcement teams raided a series of restaurants and seized entire or partial specimens of wild pig, porcupine, sambar deer, mouse deer, bamboo rats, snakes, civets, and pangolin. All are considered illegal to hunt and sell. It was just the latest action by the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department (FPD) in an ongoing effort to crack down on wildlife crimes within Vietnam’s borders.

“We applaud the efforts of the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department to stop the illegal sale of wildlife, but the impact of these seizures to stop wildlife criminals in Da Lat is limited by the lack of effective punishment,” said Dr. Scott Roberton, of WCS-Vietnam. “We urge the authorities to revoke business licenses for any repeat offenders. This will ensure that the risk of serving wildlife outweighs the potential profit.”

Mr. Vo Giang Tuyen, Vice-head of Lam Dong Forest Protection Department, sent a clear warning. “Da Lat does not tolerate anyone selling wildlife illegally,” he said. “A two-strike rule for restaurants would send the right message. If the provincial authorities won’t close these restaurants down, FPD will have to keep checking and issuing fines until they stop serving wildlife illegally, which takes a significant amount of both human and financial resources.”

In recent years, Vietnam has made a number of large wildlife seizures, but relatively few criminals in these cases have received strict punishments and almost none have been given the maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. For instance, the biggest offender ensnared in August’s raid—Tu Loan Restaurant and Zoo—is still under investigation by police and prosecutors. The restaurant has since reopened and is once again selling illegal wildlife to customers.

Hunting wildlife for the pot and for commercial sale is far more widespread than most people realize, and is leading to an ‘empty forest’ syndrome in many parts of the country. M.D. Madhusudan and K. Ullas Karanth conducted a fascinating study on local hunting around two wildlife reserves in Karnataka. These are the results of their study, excerpted from their original scientific paper published in Ambio in 2002.

Mammals that weigh over one kilo are the most prone to hunting by humans.

Their meat and by-products – hide, horn, and bone – make large mammals attractive targets.On the other hand, these mammals are vulnerable to extinction—they naturally require large home ranges and bulky diets, have slow rates of growth and maturation, small litter sizes, long life-spans, and are found in low densities.

Excessive hunting could well push vulnerable populations over the brink.

There are two distinct types of hunting in India:

The first, market hunting, refers to the well-organized hunting of selected species for ivory, rhino-horn, tiger-bone, bear-bile, shahtoosh, etc.

The second, local hunting, is a loosely organized activity, prevalent everywhere. It is driven by local tradition, sport, or demand for wild meat. Local hunting is a big threat to Indian wildlife, since it targets a wider variety of species, and is carried out by far greater numbers of people. More....

Source: Deccanherald.comBy Subhash Chandra N.S.The Forest Department squad of Biligiri Rangana Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRTWLS), pursuing fleeing poachers, has bumped into a well-knit racket into ungulate (hoofed animals) poaching, which has been active for the past five years. Three persons have been arrested in this connection. A few poachers, who managed to escape by hoodwinking the forest officials three months ago, after they were caught with their prize of spotted deer and sambar are now in the custody of the department. This has revealed a big network of poachers, which acts in the guise of visitors in all the major national parks in the State.

The department squad, which managed to trace a call made to a mobile phone by the poachers from a village Kogahalli near K Gudi helped them to nab three persons, namely Shahid, a resident of Chikmagalur district, Tanveer of Mysore and Touseef from Chikmagalur. They were nabbed from their houses.

However, the kingpin identified as Salman is absconding. The group, according to official sources, was operating for the past five years. The trio reportedly confessed that Salman had several groups operating and had so far poached over a 100 chital and sambars using .22 mm rifles, which make less noise.

According to B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden, “On interrogation, we learnt that the kingpin Salman, studying MBA in London is a frequent visitor. This is just a group, which claims to have killed 40 ungulates- 25 in Bandipur, ten in Nagarhole and five in BRTWLS,” he said.

Singh said that Salman is found to have been in Dubai and the Department is co-ordinating with the Intelligence Bureau to secure him.Modus operandi

Expressing shock over the incident, he said that their modus operandi includes moving in fast cars on the main roads entering into the forests and poaching the animals moving close by, hide the carcass and collect it later when there is no movement of forest staff or vehicle. “We are shocked with this revelation. They have fooled us for five years. We can’t even imagine that they have poached animals during the safari timings in Biligiri Rangana Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, when the vehicles are ferrying tourists. More shocking is that they are educated,” he said. More....